Who are we?

We are a community of people who recognise the true diversity of Jewish experience and who welcome all new members and participants, especially those who are distanced or estranged from many facets of contemporary Jewish community life. Our community is involved with those aspects of contemporary Judaism which both respect and creatively engage that diversity. We encourage participation in, and contributions to, our services and our after-service and secular events.

Whom do we welcome?

Everyone, but especially:

Lesbian and gay Jews

Patrilineal Jews

People who are for one reason or another on their own and who would feel more comfortable in a community which emphasises individual presence and participation

Jewish women who want to work out an independent and challenging relation, as women, to Judaism and to being Jewish

Jewish women and men who may not think of themselves as formally religious, that is, as pious or observant, but who do have Jewish issues, questions and concerns (spiritual/existential/ethical/moral) they want to engage with

Jewish women and men whose partners, though not Jewish, wish to be supportive and participate in the life of the community.

What do we do?

Shabbat - we hold regular services on the first and third Friday evening and second and fourth Saturday morning of each month.

Festivals - we celebrate all the major festivals, including a communal seder on the second night of Pesach. Our festival celebrations are known for their richness and the warm welcome we extend to all who come along.

Socials - after each Friday evening service we hold a social where we bring along and share vegetarian food. A discussion or other type of event is sometimes also organised.

Cultural programme - we offer a varied programme including discussion groups, speakers, folk dancing, singing and lesbian group events.

Study - there are opportunities for Jewish study and learning, which allow you to encounter Judaism freshly, or for the first time, as an adult.

Secular events - Recognising the diversity of meaning of the term secular for those who self-define in this way, we have recently revived the holding of meetings which provide additional time to explore Judaism and Jewishness in a context other than that of services or other religious observance. We hope that these meetings will attract Jews who stay away from synagogue life, as well as those who, wherever they find themselves on the religious/secular spectrum, have already made BKY their communal home.

Currently the format of meetings is an open and robust discussion of material (sometimes pre-distributed) on a topic presented by a member of the group. However, we would like the nature and form of the project to evolve freely as part of BKY's ongoing commitment to creating and sustaining a truly inclusive radical Jewish community.